'We are moving quickly into a reality where facades produce energy' says CEO Sjur Elling Hana in Hubro AS, one of the largest suppliers of roof and facade products in Norway. The company is working to develop new products that produce solar and solar thermal, and new insulation materials.

Hubro is working currently with several companies and communities, including them RES.as, Teknova and Aventa. Together with RES, Hubro have built a test construction, where both the sun and heat will be integrated into the building and through Hubro prefabricated system walls.

Integrated solutions

'The production of hot water through solar collectors integrated in the walls and ceilings is provided by the company Aventa. This is very cost effective solutions that will provide positive contributions in buildings with high consumption of hot water. Then apply the solar cells for electricity production from roofing and facades' says Hana.

'The third point is the use of thin film solar cells for the production of electricity. Here we have just completed a project with Teknova, where we have considered the pros and cons of thin film technology conditions for use in buildings' he adds.

New insulation materials

'Hubro are also underway to develop new insulating materials. The company delivered vacuum insulation for a building at Stavanger hospital. Furthermore, facade materials that can store energy during the day amd nano-insulation materials are also being considered.' says Hana.

'To meet the new requirements our profile, window and door systems have been upgraded. In addition, triple glazing is already standard in most buildings. We have excellent products that meet today's insulation value, while we also work to put develop exterior products that produce energy' said Hana finally.

Very positive

The chairman of Aventa, John Rekstad, is positively working with Hubro AS.'The first prototype of a complete facade element production of hot water has been developed. These integrated facades will be priced significantly lower than separate solar collectors' says Rekstad who is also professor at University of Oslo, and a veteran of the solar community in Norway.

Aventa is also working with OBOS (company's largest shareholder). Aventa has 12 employees and manufactures solar thermal systems for homes and buildings.'We will, among other things, supply solar collectors as part of the construction of the roof to 34 detached houses with passive house standard as OBOS based on Mortensrud in Oslo. In passive mode there is latively little need for heating. With the given values for heating and calculated solar energy yield of solar energy portion of field total to 62 percent. It is significantly higher than many believe and will make this a profitable investment' says Rekstad.

Important climate problems

'For several of the major construction companies such as Skanska, climate change is important. They will help make solar thermal and solar more attractive solutions' says Marit Thyholt, an Adviser to Skanska. She is looking for more suppliers of such products in Norway. 'Homes and buildings with solar heating systems are more common in Sweden and Finland than in Norway. Skanska Technical Enterprises has expertise in solar heat, and we expect this will come to Norway in the coming years. We already have a couple projects' she said.

'Skanska is the largest contributor to the research Zero Emission Building (ZEB) in Trondheim. In ZEB solutions both solar and solar are key elements. Arkiktektene plays a key role in the design of homes and buildings with such solutions. And then two-way communication (2 VCs) in place as quickly as possible' she states.

'We follow the EU's target of nil-energy-buildings in 2020. It means that we are an exciting time in the face of many challenges and opportunities for the players in the construction industry' concludes Thyholt.